old ceremonial raffia cloths of the kuba people

Old ceremonial complete, multi-panel skirts / tcaka / ntshak / ntsak, with patchwork / pagne;
Wickelgewand / Wickeltuch
of the Bakuba / Kuba / Bushong / Bushoong / Bushongo / Ngeende / Ngongo tribe/people
from Congo / DRC / formerly Zaire

Various people are united in the Bakuba/Kuba kingdom, including the leading Bushong/Bushoong/Bushongo, the Ngeende and the Ngongo.

Many small rectangular mats were woven separately, hemmed and sewed together to make long wrap-around ceremonial dance skirts.
The dark colours were prepared from burned leaves.
The red colour was prepared from wet, small pieces of wood from the Tukula tree.
Each piece took months to make.
These skirts were worn wrapped multiple times.

The following are fragments from a text written by Duncan Clarke on the
Adire African Art WWW site:
“The embroidered and appliqué decorated raffia cloths of the Kuba peoples of the Kasai river region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) are the best known survivors of an ancient African tradition of fine quality raffia cloth weaving that was once widespread across the whole of Central Africa. Similar embroidered cloths from the Kongo kingdom on the coast to the west were greatly admired in post-Renaissance Europe and entered the curio cabinets and treasuries of nobles and kings as the finest products of African artistry
…
More recently their mastery of abstract patterning was a source of inspiration to artists such as Klee, and Matisse, who displayed part of his large collection on the wall of his studio.The Kuba are a diverse group of peoples who at least until recently had a number of distinct sub-styles of raffia cloth decoration. The main ceremonial occasions and court rituals for which long raffia dance skirts and embroidered cloth panels, mbal, were once produced are quite rare events today. The continued survival of the techniques in an age where most Kuba people wear factory produced cloth for everyday dress is mainly due to the importance of embroidered and appliqué cloth in funeral celebrations. Fine cloths are accumulated within the matrilineages over several generations, with much debate over which examples are suitable for use in the ceremonial presentations and exchanges accompanying funerals. Kuba apparently believe that they would not be recognised by their clan ancestors in the land of the dead unless they were correctly dressed in high quality raffia textiles.
…
Among the Kuba peoples of the Kasai river region in Congo men are responsible for the weaving of raffia cloth, but once the cloth is complete it is the responsibility of women to prepare it for decoration.
The cloth as woven is stiff and rough with loose and uneven edges. Even for everyday use it must be hemmed and softened before it can be sewn into a larger garment. If it is to form one of the main prestige garments, the dancing skirt, it will be softened by pounding it in a large wooden mortar, and in some cases treated with a wine-red or brown dye.
It was previously thought that the actual process of decorating the cloths was done only by women, but recent research by Patricia Darish suggests that men are responsible for decorating the rectangular skirts that they wear themselves, while women decorate smaller female dancing skirts and cut-pile embroidered panels.
Among the decorative techniques that both men and women may use are certain types of embroidery, appliqué and reverse appliqué, patchwork, dyeing, and tie dyeing.
Women's dance skirts are up to nine yards in length, being wound several times around the body and folded down over a belt.
The men's skirts are significantly longer and normally have distinct borders often with a fringe of raffia bobbles.
Appliqué, often outlined and emphasized by sewing around the design area with a darker thread, is one of the two most important decorative techniques utilised on Kuba ceremonial textiles. It has been suggested that the use of appliqué among the Kuba arose out of the need to repair the holes in cloth caused by the rigorous pounding of the woven raffia required to achieve the desired softness. Right-angled, rectangular, or circular patches are sewn over the holes that emerge in the softening process, while other patches are then sewn on undamaged areas of the cloth to balance the overall visual effect.
Support for the idea that this may be the origin of the use of appliqué is provided by examining some of the oldest Kuba dance skirts in museum collections. The bulk of the patches on some of these do seem to have been motivated by the need to repair holes and achieve a balanced design, with quite large areas of cloth left plain. In later examples there is a tendency to cover the whole surface of the cloth with appliqué, often including some figurative designs.”
To more information in the text by Ann E. Svenson,